One month in and the bottles are flying off the shelves of a new micro brewery in West Grey.
Charles MacLean opened MacLean’s Ales on June 20th and says every weekend since he’s been selling out.
MacLean says he’s way ahead of his business plan, with sales of about 2-thousand bottles total, and says he will soon have to ramp up production.
MacLean’s Ales are sold individually in 500 millimetre bottles instead of the industry standard 341 millimetres bottles.
MacLean says the Euro style bottle is very popular in the LCBO and he hopes to have his product sold there within the next year or so.
MacLean makes traditional British style ales because they have a wider range of flavour, colour, and complexity than lagers.
He also focuses on using as many local ingredients as possible – his Farmhouse Ale is made using hops off his own fields as well as local barley.
His other main brand is MacLean’s Pale Ale, which he describes as an amber coloured, rich malty and hoppy ale.
MacLean also plans to introduce other brands throughout the year to reflect the season.
MacLean was born in Toronto but trained as a brewmaster in England before working for breweries in Guelph and London over the past 25 years.
He jokes his micro brewery was supposed to be a retirement project – but he’s now considering hiring some part-time staff for the home industry.
The brewery and small retail outlet are located on MacLean’s farm at 212744 Baseline Road, south of Durham.